The Red Creeper
by Moriabbey
Summary: As Isabella tries to deal with her feelings for Phineas at a school dance, the kids catch wind of a mysterious government thing out in the woods. When they decide to leave and check it out, however, they get a lot more than they bargained for... Updates are every other Friday. Will be about fifteen chapters all told. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, Isabella," Gretchen said in an imploring tone. "Just go up and ask him. I'm pretty sure you're overstating the risks here."

Isabella shook her head, flashing strobe lights casting multicolored shadows across her hair.

"I can't afford to take that chance," she replied. "The stakes are too high."

She stared out across the dance floor to the red-haired, pointy-nosed object of her affection, the ten feet of rubber floor between them seeming as wide as the Grand Canyon. He took a sip of punch, then burst out laughing at a joke Baljeet had made.

She sighed dreamily. Phineas was so cute when he laughed, especially when it made his drink come out his nose...

"Isabella!" Gretchen's voice brought Isabella back to the real world with a start.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed. "I was in Phineasland..."

Now it was Gretchen's turn to sigh.

"Look, Isabella," she said. "You can't keep doing this if you really want to be with Phineas. You're not going to get a date if you don't ask for one, and you're not going to get many dances if you don't make the first move. It's not like he's going to turn you down if you ask."

"I know, I know," Isabella replied. "I just... I know the odds of being turned down are miniscule at best, but if the risk is there, I just can't take it. I think about him turning me down, and I... I feel like a part of me dies inside."

Gretchen rolled her eyes.

"Look," she said, deciding to change tactics. "You've been the leader of our Fireside Girl troop, what, seven, eight years?"

"About that, yeah," Isabella said.

"And in that time, you've never led us wrong," Gretchen continued. "Not just because you're a good leader, but because you listen to the rest of the troop- if one of us has a good idea, you're smart enough to follow it.

"So now, I'm going to give you a good idea: Ask. Him. To dance."

Isabella turned to her friend and put a hand on her right shoulder.

"Gretchen," she said solemnly. "You're trying to use logic. With an _emotional teenager_."

"You were fine with it at the last dance!" Gretchen exclaimed angrily.

"That was different!" Isabella protested. "_He_ asked _me_ that time!"

"Yeah, so you know he likes dancing with you. It's not any different if you ask him."

"But it... but it _is_."

Gretchen rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, obviously frustrated with Isabella's reticence. Then the music playing changed, from an upbeat pop tune to a slower one. Gretchen looked up at the change and cast a glance towards Isabella, one with a hint of deviousness that she didn't quite like.

"You know what that is?" she said. "It's an omen."

"... What do you mean?" Isabella replied apprehensively. "We just went over this- I'm too emotional and hormonal to ask Phineas to dance."

Gretchen shook her head.

"Then there's only one thing I can say to you, Fearless Leader-" Gretchen grabbed Isabella's arm and started pulling her. "And that's 'you'll thank me later.'"

"Hey!" Isabella protested. She scrabbled desperately at Gretchen's grip, but she was helpless against someone with the Vulcan Everywhere-Grip patch. She felt an odd mixture of pride and mortal terror, but mostly just terror.

As they approached Phineas's loose group, Isabella stopped struggling and put on a smile, hoping not to embarrass herself too badly. She walked a little forward of Gretchen (who still didn't let go of her arm; she probably would have fled if she had) and greeted them with a call of "Hey, guys!"

The four of them looked up at her greeting, and each reciprocated in their own way- Phineas with a responding call of "Hey, Isabella!", Baljeet with a raised hand of acknowledgement, Buford by crunching his punch cup together and tossing the liquid in it behind him (she wasn't quite sure what that was about), and Ferb just by looking at her. He made it work somehow.

"So, um," Isabella began, trying to ignore Gretchen's tight grip on her arm (though, again, without it, she probably would have ran for the door). After a moment spent willing the words out of her mouth, she finished, so fast it almost in one word, "Doyouwanttodancewithme?"

"Sure!" Phineas replied. Gretchen released Isabella's arm, then gave her a tiny, almost invisible push in the direction of Phineas. She barely managed to keep from giving a squeal of surprise as she stumbled forward and fell into Phineas's arms.

"Eager to get started, huh?" she heard Buford snicker as she straightened herself with as much dignity as she could muster. Just before moving onto the dance floor, she turned and shot Gretchen an angry glare.

All she got in response was a mouthed "You're welcome."

* * *

><p>The music was suitably slow and romantic, she was all of six inches from Phineas, and he seemed to be enjoying the dance almost as much as she was. All in all, she decided she owed Gretchen an apology.<p>

As the song changed to another, still slow-paced tune (they'd been dancing for a while now), she decided it might be time for some small talk.

"So," she began, seeming to startle Phineas out of a dance-induced reverie. "How's your perpetual motion machine coming?"

For Physics this year, all the students had to do a special project, and Phineas had asked to build a "free energy accumulator." Mr Jenkins had just laughed at him (he was new), but said that if he managed it, he would give him a 200% in the class. None of the other students doubted Phineas's ability to finish the project, and the day for project judging was hotly anticipated just to see Mr. Jenkins's reaction to the finished project.

"Well, it's not technically a perpetual motion machine," Phineas replied, as he always did when asked about the project. "It actually draws on the quantum fluctuations of the fabric of space-time to control a fusion reaction and then disassemble the reaction products back into hydrogen. So it's really more like a fusion reactor that can reuse its fuel."

Isabella let out a sigh as Phineas launched into a detailed description of his project. She loved to listen to him talking technical.

But as he kept talking, she caught a glimpse of something behind his head. She craned her neck just a bit to get a better look (Phineas seemed too engrossed in his explanation to notice).

A panicked-looking man in a hastily-donned trench coat was talking to one of the chaperones. He kept looking around at the students, but quickly, like he was trying to make sure he wasn't being noticed, but trying not to do it in a conspicuous way. As the motion of the dance slowly pulled Isabella around, she caught a glimpse of blue under the crooked trench coat- a policeman's uniform?

Then she was back where she'd started, with Phineas between her and the possible policeman, just as he was finishing off his explanation with "But it hasn't ripped apart the very fabric of the universe yet, so I think I'm doing well." Then he realized Isabella's concentration wasn't all there, and turned to see what she was looking at. Now the chaperone had her hands clapped over her mouth, her eyes big as dinner plates.

"That guy just ran in here and started to talking to Mrs. Harding,," Isabella explained as Phineas stopped dancing. "I think we should go check it out."

Phineas nodded. "Mrs. Harding's been an elementary school teacher for fourteen years. Anything that can scare her must be really something."

They were both silent as the distant conversation seemed to conclude. Mrs. Harding went to talk to one of the other chaperones, as fast as she could manage without looking panicked, while the police officer ran back out the exit.

Phineas followed the man's progress with his gaze, then turned to Isabella and asked "Isn't there a rule against students leaving the school during a dance?"

Isabella grinned.

"You read my mind," she replied, as they started towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Phineas and Isabella lurked behind a conveniently placed dumpster. The policeman from the auditorium was shedding his trench coat as he walked out to a police car shoved into the packed parking lot.

"How close do you think we can get to them without being spotted?" Isabella asked. "These cars are pretty close together; if we're quiet, I bet we can get right up to them."

"No need," Phineas replied as he reached into his jeans pocket. "There's an app for that."

He pulled his iPhone out of his pocket and started scrolling through the screens. Isabella looked over his shoulder and saw him tap on the icon titled "Parabolic Microphone."

"Earbud?" he asked. Isabella took it and pulled herself close to him- to listen better, of course.

Phineas popped in the other 'bud of the set and started trying to get the iPhone pointed at the car. They spent a few seconds listening to random snatches of static and wildlife noises before finally picking up a bit of human speech.

He stopped sweeping and started moving the iPhone in smaller strokes, trying to home in on the police car. Finally, he stopped a stroke just as something came over the earbuds.

"-still don't know why they're being so mum about this," said a female voice, sounding obviously irritated. "I mean, I can see why they wouldn't want the public to know about it, but why are they keeping this thing from law enforcement too? We have a right to know just what it is they have in the forest!"

Isabella and Phineas shared an uneasy look. They already didn't like where this was headed.

"Well, the Feds do what the Feds do," replied a man who sounded like he was eating something (probably a donut, if he was following the stereotype). "Just let them do their thing and they'll leave us alone when they're done."

The woman gave an irritated grunt. There were a few seconds of silence before the huddled teenagers heard the sound of a car door opening.

"Anything come over the scanner while I was gone?" asked a third voice, presumably the policeman they'd seen in the auditorium.

"Nada so far," said the other man, who still sounded like he was eating something. "HQ's been quiet all night."

There was a "fwoosh" and then a "fwump" sound, which Isabella took to mean the third man had got in the car. The door closed, and none of the police spoke.

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Isabella asked Phineas. He shook his head, a rare expression of bewilderment apparent on his features.

"I don't remember hearing about anything weird in the forest," he replied. "Much less something the government would be interested in."

"So what should we do?" Isabella asked. "Cut the dance and go check it out?" And spend a long time alone together in the car, she thought, but decided not to say out loud.

Phineas took a moment to mull the question over, then started to reply-

-And was interrupted by a voice from the iPhone.

"This is lieutenant Kowalski, come in, officer Derling, over," came a staticy voice like you'd hear over the radio- which was probably where it was coming from. A moment with the sounds of frenetic scrabbling followed, before the woman, sounding obviously eager, said "This is officer Derling, come in Kowalski, over."

"HQ's moved up the timetable," said the radio voice. "Another squad car is being sent to your position. You're to carry out the 19-19 as soon as they arrive, over."

There was a second of silence before the woman let out a disappointed sigh.

"Copy that, Kowalski. Over and out."

The officer with the donut let out a chuckle.

"You know, if I'm stuck here, that means the two of you are stuck with me," the woman declared angrily.

"Oh, I know," he replied. "Unlike you, I don't want to get too close to the thing the Feds are so eager to keep us away from."

"Yeah, well, just get your equipment ready-"

Isabella turned to look behind herself, suddenly distracted from the iPhone microphone. She could've sworn she'd heard someone moving behind them.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Phineas as she pulled out her earbud. He turned and did the same.

"I don't think so..." he replied after a second. They were both quiet, barely aware of the other as they tried to listen.

Eventually, Isabella decided it had probably just been her nerves, and started to turn back to the iPhone.

"Hey, Isabella!"

Isabella let out an undignified shriek at the disturbance and leapt backwards, slamming against the rear fender of a sedan.

Then she saw who had spooked her, and felt very sheepish.

Gretchen tilted her head a bit. From her expression, she looked to be both confused and amused by Isabella's distress.

"Whatcha' doin', Fearless Leader?" she asked.

Isabella scowled at her and crawled back away from the car.

"Getting the wits scared out of me by a stalker," she retorted. "What are you doing?"

"Following you," Gretchen said matter-of-factly. "I saw you guys come out here, so I decided to see if you were getting it on yet."

"Wait, wha-" Phineas asked before Isabella shushed him, a bit of red coming into her cheeks.

"Anyway," Gretchen continued, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "It looked like you were listening to something really intently, so I decided to come over and see what you were up to."

"Well, it's..." Isabella began, glad for a subject change. "It's weird." And she gave a quick rundown of what had happened that night, starting with her spotting the police officer on the dance floor, and ending with what they'd overheard the cops in the squad car saying.

"I'm not really sure exactly what it is they have in the forest," she finished, having talked for the better part of two minutes. "They didn't really give any details, and I don't think they even really know. But it sounded really dangerous, and if the government's interested, it must be big."

Gretchen put a hand to her chin, her expression thoughtful.

"That is weird," she said. "I don't remember hearing about any-"

Then all three of them went silent as they heard voices approaching them- from the direction of the police car.

"I think we'd better split," Phineas said.

Gretchen held the door open for Isabella, who took a fearful look behind herself. The police didn't seem to have followed them, but she had no great desire to find out the hard way that they had.

"So, what do we do now?" Gretchen asked. "Head over to the forest and see what's going on?"

"I think that's our best option," Phineas replied. "I'll go grab the others."

Isabella followed behind him. Gretchen put a hand on her shoulder, slowing her pace until they'd fallen behind Phineas.

"So," she half-whispered as they passed into the crowded auditorium. "You seriously didn't try anything while you guys were out there?"

Isabella sighed.

"I know, I know, it was a perfect chance and I blew it," she said. Gretchen smiled a bit at that.

"I wasn't gonna say it, but..."

She put an arm around her friend's shoulders and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Don't worry, Fearless Leader," she said. "If something big really is going on, we'll-"

Gretchen suddenly stopped, both her walking and her speech. Her head turned sharply, an expression of surprise pasted across her features.

Isabella turned to follow Gretchen's gaze. For a moment, the darkness around the edge of the dance floor, combined with the strobing neon lights everywhere else, left her unable to see just what it was Gretchen staring at.

Then her eyes slowly started to adjust, and, for the second time that night, she found a flash of blue in the darkness. Hiding in the shadows of the entrance, almost imperceptible in the neon half-light, was a morbidly obese police officer.

Isabella let out a mental swear. The policeman shifted in his position, apparently oblivious to her ire.

She turned back to the entrance they'd come in through. For a moment, darkness prevailed in the narrow passage. Then a head emerged into the neon brightness- a female face, sharp with frustration and watching for any signs of trouble.

Then she was gone, back into the darkness. Unlike her overweight colleague, she seemed to actually know her concealment business.

"They've got both the entrances covered," Gretchen whispered beside her. Isabella nodded her fearful assent.

Their way out had just become much more complicated.

"We have a problem-" Phineas started to explain as Isabella and Gretchen arrived.

"The police. We know," Isabella interrupted. "We saw them already. Are there any other ways out?"

Phineas shook his head.

"Just the two with police on them. There's a maintenance tunnel back in the overflow seating, but it's actually closed for maintenance. And I don't think we'd be able to use it with this crowd and the police watching, anyway."

"Then let's just go in and bust some heads," Buford said. "The fat one looks like he'll go down easy."

"First of all, Buford, assaulting a police officer is a felony," Phineas said. "Second of all, I don't think we can do anything even remotely noticeable without being spotted- either by the police or everyone else here." He gestured at the crowd behind them.

"No, if we're going to get out of here, we need some kind of diversion..."

A thought seemed to strike Ferb, and he backed out of their impromptu circle and started rummaging through a satchel he'd brought with him.

"Oh, I get it," Buford said. "We draw 'em out of their hiding places and then we rough them up."

"Buford, the whole point of a distraction is to get away while everyone's attention is off of you," Isabella explained frustratedly. "It sort of defeats the whole purpose if you-"

"Well, then, what do you propose?" Buford asked. "The police aren't stupid; they're going to notice if you try hacking the sound system or whatever."

"I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas-"

"Ah-hem," came Ferb's distinctly British cough. Once he was sure all eyes were on him, he withdrew a roadside flare from his satchel- the kind that was visible from five miles away and would temporarily blind you if you looked straight at it.

"Will this be sufficient?" he asked.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed:

**Unknown Person 838:** Here's hoping two weeks is soon enough.

**BlytheHasFreckles:** Thanks! It's great to hear that.

**Sleeping Kangaroo:** I know, right? It's great to finally start posting this!


	3. Chapter 3

**About Five Minutes Later**

She must be crazy. That was all Isabella could think as she squeezed her way to the middle of the dance floor, as central a location as she could manage.

The whole thing was crazy, first of all- dropping a roadside flare in the middle of a school dance? If she was ever caught, she would be suspended for life at the very least.

Second of all, there were at least a pair of cops watching, and probably at least one more. Knowing the sad state of the American justice system, there was probably a law somewhere specifically against what she was about to do.

Of course, it was a bit late to be questioning her decision.

She turned her head back, trying to catch a glimpse of the others, but frustrated in her attempts by the crush of teenagers in all directions. She couldn't see if they were in position by the door or not.

Well, they'd agreed on the plan, She just had to hope they'd stuck to it. She turned her attention back to the dance floor, and maneuvering to the right position. She needed to make sure she was out of line of sight from the police officers, but she also needed to be close enough to the door to slip out in the chaos.

She did a quick check of the two doors. She couldn't see them over the crowd, so she assumed that the police couldn't see her either. And even if she had been visible from where she stood, the combination of low lighting and violently strobing neon lights was probably messing up their vision something fierce. It was certainly doing that to her.

Doing her best to make it look like part of the dancing, she pulled the flare from her jacket. No one near her seemed to notice.

She twisted off the plastic end cap. Still no one looked her way. She turned the cap around in her hand, bringing the rough striking surface into contact with the end of the flare. Then she shoved the cap forward, and the flare ignited with a hiss.

She dropped the flare like it was a grenade and started forcing her way back toward the door. Behind her, there were a few shouts as people started to notice the searing brightness of the flare over the flashing dance lights.

As she finally shoved her way out of the bulk of the crowd, the two policemen emerged from the doorways. The obese male looked unhappy at having to walk anywhere, while the woman looked angry- but with her it looked more like anger about having to leave a good hiding spot.

Most of the others slipped out in the confusion, clinging to the shadows in the edge of the gym, but Isabella saw Gretchen stay behind, presumably to make sure she get out. As soon as Isabella reached her, she declared "We need to talk, Fearless Leader."

"Now?" Isabella turned back towards the dance floor, where the two police were pushing their way through the crowd. They wouldn't be distracted forever. "We sort of have to get out now-"

Gretchen seized Isabella's arm and started pulling her towards the main entrance. "Then I'll be quick." Once they were in the entryway, Gretchen pulled them both into the shadows where they couldn't be seen.

"Alright, I know I already gave you the romance pep talk," Gretchen said. "Carpe diem and all that. But we're doing something secret and dangerous tonight, and there is nothing better for romance than danger."

"I know, Gretchen," Isabella replied. "I've seen action movies too."

"Yeah, I know you know. I just... I just want you to remember."

"... What do you mean?" Isabella's tone shifted a little, becoming more suspicious.

"I mean I think you should tell him," Gretchen said matter-of-factly. "Tonight."

"... Tonight."

"Yes, tonight!" Gretchen's voice started to rise a little, becoming a shout, before she checked it and quieted.

"Sorry. I don't want to pressure you or anything. I just don't think you're going to get a better opportunity than this one. I know you're already going to be taking any chance you can get to be alone with him. Just... watch for an opening. Try to find a time to tell him. Please."

"I..." Isabella's voice trailed off. She spent a moment trying to formulate a response before Gretchen sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just think it over, alright? You don't have to decide now, just... keep it in mind."

"Okay," Isabella said quietly. "I'll... I'll do that."

"Good," Gretchen said and clapped Isabella's shoulder. "Now that that's out of the way, we should probably get out of here before the police come back."

"What took you two so long?" Baljeet asked as Isabella and Gretchen emerged. "We are on a bit of a time crunch here."

"Oh, you know, girl stuff," Gretchen replied.

As they spoke, Phineas's car, a red '69 Camaro convertible, came around the corner of the parking lot. Its driver pulled it up to the corner with an ease born of practice and a way with machines, then opened the passenger door and announced "Alright, it's going to be cramped, but I think we can all fit in here."

"I call shotgun!" Isabella blurted out as soon as he was finished. "Because... I'm the Fireside girl troop leader- and Phineas is sort of our leader. And the leaders should go together."

"Smooth," Gretchen whispered as Buford snickered. Phineas raised an eyebrow, apparently a bit confused by the reaction. Isabella's face flushed, but she took the passenger seat anyway.

The back of the Camaro technically only had two seats, so it was a bit of a struggle to fit everyone. Eventually it was decided (with some grumbling) that Buford and Ferb would share a seatbelt, as would Baljeet and Gretchen.

Though the backseat was full of small talk as they pulled out of the school parking lot, Isabella was silent, her conversation with Gretchen crowding out all other thoughts.

This is a good thing, she thought, trying to make herself believe it. It's not healthy to keep going like this. Gretchen is right, this is a great opportunity and I need to take it.

And even if he does reject me, that's good. Then I'll just have to move on and deal with it like a mature, responsible adult-

Oh. Right. This is a hormonal freshman girl we're talking about.

But even so, Gretchen's right. I've been putting off dealing with this for years, and it's time to finally take the chance fate gives me and just-

"Weird night, huh?" Phineas said.

"What?" Isabella asked, suddenly startled out of her reverie. "Oh. Yeah. Weird..."

There was silence for a moment. Isabella shifted nervously in her seat and looked out the window, watching the buildings blur as they flashed by.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Phineas asked. Isabella wiped her eyes and turned back towards him.

"What do you mean?" she asked in what she hoped was an uncomprehending tone of voice.

"I mean, you just seem... kind of nervous. Like, more than you normally would be if we were going off to investigate a mysterious government thing."

The backseat suddenly went silent. As usual, Phineas didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, no, it's..." she began, struggling to come up with a response. Nothing I can tell you about, her mind finished for her.

"... It's nothing," she finished, deciding on what must have been the lamest cop-out ever.

So much for a mature, responsible adult, she thought.

Phineas took his gaze off the road for a brief moment, turning to look into Isabella's eyes. In spite of his general lack of awareness when it came to her feelings for him, she could feel something mindful in his gaze.

Now the whole car was silent, everyone watching the pair in the front seat.

After what felt like a century, but was probably closer to a few seconds, Phineas turned back to the wheel. "Well, alright, if you're sure," he said.

There was about the sound you would expect if four people who'd been holding their breath suddenly let it out at the same time. Gretchen started muttered something unkind under her breath.

Isabella turned back to the window with a sigh. Expecting a revelation like that from Phineas was probably hoping for a miracle, after all.

Then the car came to a screeching halt. The small talk, just barely beginning to start up again, suddenly stopped as the car's inhabitants lapsed into stunned silence.

The hills before them were completely covered with forest- or at least they had been. Now a burnt-out scar maybe thirty feet wide streaked across the greenery, flame and smoke covering the track. And at the end of the path, in a narrow depression between two hills, lay a smoking crater, perhaps twenty meters wide and swarming with military vehicles.

"I think we're here," Phineas said. No one seemed inclined to argue.


	4. Chapter 4

**Isabella**

The whole car was silent, its inhabitants staring uncomprehendingly at the flaming spectacle before them. Eventually, Phineas turned in his seat and started backing the car down the road.

"Probably best if we aren't spotted," he explained.

As they pulled back along the rutted dirt road, the hills began to obscure their view of the fire and government vehicles, until only the rising smoke was visible. Once they were sure to be out of view, Phineas backed the car into the foliage until only the front end was sticking out.

The air of the silence had changed- from a stunned and watchful awe into a more contemplative quiet, like a collective catching of breath. Baljeet was the first to break it, with "Well, that was informative."

"What do you mean?" Buford asked. "All I saw was a crater and some government people."

"Exactly!" Baljeet replied. "The crater and the trail left by whatever made it narrows down the field of candidates significantly. We know it must be something space-borne, since nothing else would have been able to go unnoticed. It's almost certainly not a weapons test, since nearly all space-based weapons platforms fire straight down, and so would not have left a linear trail like the one we saw. We know that it must be unexpected as well, since it wouldn't otherwise be met with such panic. And, of course, we know that it must be dangerous, since they have gone to such pains to keep even the local police away from the location."

Predictably, Buford disputed Baljeet, and the two began a heated debate. Everyone else in the car was quickly pulled in, and as Isabella began to tune them, a flash of light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned, rolled down the window and stuck her head out the window for a better look.

After a moment of observation, Isabella reached down, picked up the offending object and pulled it into the car.

"Hey, guys!" she shouted, bringing the rest of the car back into silence. She held out the strange sample and asked "Any idea what this is?"

It looked like a piece of metal, maybe six inches square, its edges cut to exacting precision. One side bore a U.S. Air Force etching, but its most remarkable feature was what was missing- about a quarter of it. One corner of the panel seemed to have been simply eaten away, with bubbly scorch marks marking the edge of the missing region.

"I think it's some kind of aerospace alloy," she said as she passed it over. "And that looks like an acid burn in the corner, but I'm not sure."

Phineas looked it over, his brow beginning to furrow, then handed it backwards to Ferb.

"That's what it looks like to me," he agreed. "What do you think?"

Now it was Ferb's turn to turn the mystery metal over in his hands, a hint of trepidation creasing his normally sanguine British features. Eventually, he looked up and nodded his assent.

The car was silent as Ferb passed the sample to the other denizens of the backseat. Buford, surprisingly, didn't try to pull it away from Baljeet- like the rest of them, he seemed to be too busy staring at it.

"What kind of meteorite would have acid in it?" Phineas asked nobody in particular.

No one in the car seemed to have a good answer, until Ferb said "I think perhaps some fieldwork is in order."

"In pairs!" Isabella interjected. Then her face flushed and she quietly added "Because, you know, the buddy system."

The group split quickly. Phineas and Isabella went together, of course, as did Buford and Baljeet, leaving Ferb and Gretchen together. Phineas and Isabella had decided to head up to the crest of the hill, where Phineas would try to get a good look at the government agents below and Isabella would try to listen in on them on a military shortwave radio Ferb had had in his satchel.

Now Phineas was standing next to her, surveying the scene below with light-amplification goggles, while she sat behind a tree fiddling with the radio controls. The nearest people were probably the government agents near the bottom of the hill. They were more alone than Isabella could ever remember them being.

A voice in the back of her head whispered tell him. She pushed it away. They were doing important secrety things now- she would get a better chance if she waited. Mortal danger, or a convenient explosion to throw him on top of her.

She would have her chance. She just had to wait.

"Hey, Izzy," Phineas said, suddenly bringing her back to reality. "Could you look at something for me?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," she replied. "You found something?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "Look at that van right next to the crater."

She stood as he passed her the binoculars, taking the opportunity to move a little closer to him.

The truck Phineas had pointed out looked both out of place and perfectly at home- at home because it was the most stereotypical unmarked government van Isabella had ever seen, and out of place because it was in the middle of the woods, surrounded by ATV's and jeeps- vehicles that could actually go off-road. She was hard-pressed to say exactly how it had gotten itself out here.

But then she noticed something far more unnerving: acid burns on the closed back doors, just like the one on the mystery metal she'd found.

Then the truck rocked to the side.

The movement was so slight that at first Isabella wasn't sure she'd seen it. She put down the binoculars, blinked once, and pulled them back up.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then something inside the truck slammed itself against the side, so hard that she could hear the impact from who knew how far away. One side of the truck lifted off the ground and hung there for a moment before it came down with a crash.

"Oh, geez, what was that?" Phineas asked, but she barely heard him.

Whatever it was in the truck tried the other side. There was another pair of crashing noises as the side of the truck lifted off of and fell back to the ground.

Now she heard panicked shouts. She let the binoculars fall again and saw what looked like every military or government person on the hill running towards the truck.

One of them, a soldier in full combat fatigues, opened the back door a hair, stuck in the barrel of an assault rifle, and fired a burst into the truck. A fraction of a second after he slammed the door shut again, the thing in the truck smashed itself against it. The soldier shouted something indistinct, and two more people with rifles opened the truck's front doors and fired through them.

After that, the truck gave one more weak shake, and then seemed to stop. Now others started running up to the truck, scientist-looking people in lab coats. One of the soldiers started yelling at them, and one of the scientists started yelling back.

As the recriminations below grew heated, Phineas turned to Isabella, his face pale.

"What the hell was that?" he whispered.

Isabella shook her head, feeling as shell-shocked as Phineas looked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I feel like I'm in a bad 50's sci-fi movie, except I don't have a car."

Phineas chuckled.

"I guess that makes us the couple who find the space-monster," he said, his tone artificially nonchalant. Then he shivered and sat down, holding himself in a fetal position.

Take the initiative, Isabella heard Gretchen's voice saying. There was only a moment of indecision on her part before she sat down beside him and put her arms around him. She felt a bit of her own fear melt away at the touch, and she held him closer.

Phineas froze. For a moment, he seemed as unsure as she was.

Then he hugged her back and pulled her even closer.

She could feel him shaking against her at first. But as she held him tighter, she felt him growing still, until the only motion was the steady in-out of their breathing, like his fear was melting away with hers.

Phineas's arms were like a cocoon around her. As she felt the warmth flowing into her, she briefly felt like just staying in them forever.

But then she heard the little Gretchen-voice of reason again, and she realized that the it was right.

She pulled a little bit away from Phineas, keeping her arms wrapped around him. She took a final deep breath. She opened her mouth-

And then her world was shattered by a sudden, distinctly British scream.

**Ferb**

**A few moments earlier**

The forest was dark, but Ferb didn't like using light-amplification goggles. He liked to be able to see colors besides green.

His flashlight traced a dim circle of light across the forest floor. Fallen leaves and twigs crunched beneath his feet, and somewhere behind him he could hear Gretchen tromping along as well.

From somewhere over the crest of the hill he could hear shouted conversation and running engines. He tuned it out. Watching the government agents was Phineas and Isabella's job. He and Gretchen were supposed to be looking for physical evidence of whatever had happened- more things like the acid-burned metal Isabella had discovered. He idly wondered how Phineas and Isabella were doing, but his thoughts wandered there for barely a moment before they were drawn back to the forest.

A branch, still green and leafy, lay on the ground at his feet. At the break, where there should have been splintered wood, the branch almost seemed to have melted.

His gaze took a slow circle around the fallen branch. To the left of it was a trail of what looked like wet mulch, leading to what looked like the edge of the treeline. He followed it, coming out in a roughly circular clearing. The trail ended close to the other side of the clearing.

He followed the trail to the end and trained his flashlight on the object. In the shaking light, it almost seemed to be quivering- had he scared more easily, he might have almost thought it was moving.

It looked like a tiny lump of red jello, with a thin covering of dirt and leaves from the forest floor. What little of its natural color that wasn't obscured was opaque, like clouded glass, and seemed almost to pulse faintly.

At that moment, Ferb's curiosity overcame his better judgement. He picked up a nearby stick and stuck it into the little red blob.

Its consistency seemed to match its appearance- that of jello. The stick went in with a slight sucking noise, and when Ferb tried to pull it out again the mysterious object just came with it. He scowled minutely, held the stick upright and gave a good shake.

The lump held on stubbornly, then began to slide down the stick once the motion had stopped. Before Ferb could drop it, it slid down to his fingers, then sucked itself over the rest of his hand.

Then the burning started.

If you're still reading this, you should be like these awesome people and review!

**Web2theweb1:** I actually already have a bunch of beta readers. But thanks for the offer!

**Yarthayaj'knaushtavdhladleklwa: **Because the metric system is WAY better than Imperial.

**Sleeping Kangaroo:** Thanks! And also thanks for the edits.

**asdf: **I actually just picked the Camaro because I thought it was a neat car- I really don't read as much fanfiction as I would like, and I actually haven't read any of the PnF Industries stories.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **God, I'm sorry I'm so late with this update. Stuff happened and I'll get the next chapter up on schedule.

**Isabella**

"Ferb!" Phineas shouted, branches whipping past his head as ran through the underbrush. "Ferb, where are you?"

Isabella looked frantically from side to side as she ran after him. Without any kind of night vision, and running in the dark like this, she couldn't believe he hadn't run into a tree yet.

"Slow down, Phineas!" she yelled, but he didn't seem to notice. If Ferb was in danger, she doubted there was a force on Earth that could distract him.

Ferb's scream suddenly died. Phineas stopped in place and looked around like Candace trying to find the day's project before Linda went inside.

Isabella nearly crashed into him coming to a stop. She clutched his arm for support, trying to catch her breath. But barely a moment afterward, like he'd been catching his breath as well, Ferb's screaming started again, and Isabella heard something pop as Phineas wrenched his arm out of her grip and ran off into the darkness.

She sighed and took one more deep breath before running after him.

In the darkness, it was no surprise that she took almost a full minute to find Phineas, nor that she almost tripped over him when she did.

He was kneeling next to his brother, apparently trying to keep him from thrashing where he lay in the grass. Ferb wasn't screaming anymore- only a childlike whimpering was coming from his throat.

Isabella almost wished he was. This was worse.

His right arm was covered with a red, jelly-like substance almost up to his elbow. It was held straight out from his body, trembling slightly. All around it the grass was blackened, even melted in a few places. Isabella knelt next to him, trying to keep down a rising wave of nausea.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"I don't know," Phineas replied, his voice trembling. "I just got here and he was... like this."

Isabella started reaching out to touch the thing on Ferb's arm, then thought the better of it. She picked up a stick instead and, after a moment's hesitation, poked it in.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the smell of chemical smoke began to waft upwards, and a faint sizzling noise could be heard. It grew louder, second by second, until it was like grease sizzling on a range.

Isabella gasped and stumbled backwards, the stick pulling itself out of her grip. As she fell in the dead leaves and dirt of the forest floor, she saw it glide into the red mass with a horrible sucking noise.

The blob sucked itself down Ferb's arm again. He drew a sharp breath and started to shake, twisting in the grass. Now he was looking straight into Isabella's gaze, but he didn't seem to see her. His eyes were unfocused and he showed no sign of recognizing her- no sign of being aware of anything but a hideous, burning pain.

Isabella stood slowly, trying not to vomit.

"Phineas," she said quietly. "I don't think that thing's coming off."

"Well then what are we going to do about it?" he asked. He looked up at her, his gaze pleading. "We have to get it off of him. We can't let it spread-"

"I think we need to cut off his arm."

"... Oh."

Phineas looked down at his brother, fear in his gaze. The thing on his arm was almost to his elbow now, and soon there wouldn't be a handhold left on his forearm.

After a moment, he looked back up at Isabella, and she could see him coming to a decision.

"Okay," he said quietly.

Isabella breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. First we need to make a tourniquet to keep him from bleeding out."

"I got it," Phineas tore off his sleeve, and started tying it around his brother's upper arm. Ferb shuddered as the fabric tightened, but didn't otherwise seem to notice.

Isabella leapt over to Ferb's fallen satchel and started rifling through it.

Come on, she thought. You had a roadside flare in here; there must be a survival knife in here somewhere...

Her hand closed around a handle and she whipped it out of the bag, along with a blade that seemed more suited to butchering elephants than being a survival tool.

What on Earth did he have this bag at school for?

Isabella shook off the thought and stumbled back over to Ferb. He hadn't seemed to notice the tourniquet at first, but now it seemed to be becoming painful- completely cutting off the circulation will do that to a limb.

Phineas's eyes widened at the monster of a knife Isabella was carrying.

"It was in Ferb's bag- don't ask, I don't know."

She sidled up to Ferb again and looked down at his arm. There were still a few inches left above his elbow- not enough for a hand, but just enough for...

Seeing what she had in mind, Phineas grabbed a strong-looking branch from the underbrush and pressed it against the bare patch.

Isabella let out a strangled gulp and put the knife against Ferb's elbow. She tried to visualize the joint, hoping not to cut straight through the bone.

I'm sorry about this, Ferb, she thought.

But before the blade could break the skin, Isabella heard voices coming from over the hill- shouted orders mixing with the thrumming of helicopter blades, growing gradually louder. She turned her head and saw lights over the crest of the hill.

A pair of spotlights came over the hill, and in the darkness it took Isabella a month to make out the outline of a helicopter behind them. The trees below it swayed as the spotlights swept across the hill.

Isabella froze. The leaves were whistling in the downdraft from the helicopter, both noises growing louder as the spotlights grew closer. The knife fell from her grasp, its impact muffled on the dry grass.

Phineas looked up at Isabella. His eyes were like a deer's, caught in the headlights of a driver who'd crossed five lanes just to hit him.

"What do we do, Isabella?" he asked.

Ferb let out another moan, almost a shout now, whether from the noise or the tourniquet, Isabella couldn't tell. Phineas turned back to his brother and put one hand on his chest and another on the crook of his elbow.

"It's okay, Ferb," he said reassuringly. His voice was rising to match the roar of the approaching helicopter. "It's going to be okay!"

Isabella spent a moment trying to come up with an answer, then realized that she didn't have one. She turned back to the helicopter, watching as the spots of light flowed closer.

One of them came to the edge of the clearing. It stopped for a moment, then started slowly towards them. Isabella stood and took an instinctive step backwards, eyes locked on the approaching circle of light.

As the light swept over them, it caught her in the middle of another step and she went down with a shout. She threw up her hands in front of her eyes, trying to shield them from the burning light. It didn't work very well. In front of her, she heard cries of pain from Phineas and Ferb as well.

The downdraft grew harder until her hair was flying like a threadbare flag in a thunderstorm. The thrumming of the helicopter blades grew louder until she couldn't hear even Ferb's screams above it.

"Lie down on the ground and put your hands on your head," came a booming voice from above her. Isabella opened her eyes a crack, then immediately regretted it. Trying to look directly into the spotlights was just asking for blindness.

"You need to help my brother!" Phineas shouted. Isabella turned her head away from the lights and trying cracking open her eyes again.

Phineas was standing next to his brother, squinting up at the helicopter. His eyes had to be burning up, looking straight at the spotlights like that, but he just sounded defiant.

"Get down on the ground-" the voice from the helicopter started repeating, angrier now.

"No, you need to help him!" Phineas was already shouting to make himself heard over the helicopter. "There's something on his arm, and it's eating him, and you need to get it off-"

There was a flash like a bolt of lightning, hair-thin, lancing out at Phineas from the helicopter. A crack of thunder. Phineas gave a cry of pain, and before the white-hot afterimage could fade from Isabella's eyes he fell beside his brother.

"PHINEAS!" Isabella screamed. She pulled herself up and ran, falling to her hands and knees next to him. Somewhere in the background she could hear someone yelling at her, something about getting down with her hands on her head, but it didn't seem important.

Shaking hands ran over Phineas's arm, pulling back his sleeve. She scrabbled desperately across his wrist for a pulse. In the moment, basic first-aid knowledge seemed to have fled her- which side of the wrist was the pulse on? Front or back, left or right? How close was it to the hand?

Isabella looked back up at the helicopter. She noticed the pain of looking into the spotlights, but she didn't feel it. She didn't feel the underbrush pressing into her legs. She didn't feel Phineas's hand in hers. She didn't feel anything.

"What did you do to him?!" she screamed. "If he's dead, you bas-"

There was flash like lightning. A crack of thunder. A feeling like she'd stepped on a live wire.

And everything went dark.

* * *

><p>Thanks to both of last chapter's reviewers:<p>

**Yarthayaj'knaushtavdhladleklwa**

**TAGirlie: **Thanks for the note- I'll do my best to do better in the future. But I'm glad to know you like it!


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